Thanks so much for the article. I've read my copy of Keith Jones,
Knowing Bass 3x and I still reread certain chapters about fish senses. Fascinating to say the least, but I still wonder how it all can help anyone catch fish seeing as how little is
applied science : the discipline dealing with the art or science of applying scientific knowledge to practical problems along with resulting solutions that are
reproducible.
For instance, the article says to use color X under certain conditions. It doesn't address all the colors that
also work under those conditions. I can think of a dozen for each example.
I figured you'd get that one in somewhere! LOL
Yet the simple fact is that blue is one color I
never use to catch crappie, regardless of anyone's expertise and I've averaged over 50 fish of different species per outing all summer using a only few colors not mentioned. (BTW, black with glitter rarely shows off the glitter; the same for any
opaque soft plastic color. This comes from a lure maker who has poured many colors and flake combinations and tried to get red glitter to flash in black without success.
I do appreciate the physics of color in various waters and at different depths which also begs the question:
exactly what do fish see in stained water 12' down in early evening?!
Water color filter plus low light = what color? If fish are supposed to feed on lures
matching a color to a prey, what happens when the actual color appears gray under those conditions? Ditto for tannin stained water under a moonless night or even if a lantern is hung overboard where all fish see looking up is a dark underside - no color.
Every angler on this forum has his or her favorite or
confidence colors which
rarely disappoint. I have a small collection of colors I take and if my most preferred one doesn't seem to produce 1. at that time of day, 2. in that part of the lake, 3. under a sky that may change in the next hour, 4. using a certain presentation depending on cover and 5. and for a certain lure design ..... I change to another and
flip a coin to decide which.
Color choice shouldn't be based on
rocket science. It's pretty much a no-brainer for all species of predator fish that mostly strike lures according to the saying,
action speaks louder than color (lure action and imparted action that is...)
But thanks again for the article. Most of it agrees with K. Jones' treatise on color - one I always keep handy before I .....flush.